What would you do when you were trying to make as best deal as possible??? Strategy?? Advice??

Im not going to do Trade-in and not gonna pay with full-cash. I am 18 and graduated this year. Im going to buy with payment plan and use other person's credit.

This is a one of the tacomas that I've found from Ford dealership. It is a 2007 Double cab, V6, 4x4, with TRD-sports package. And they are asking $21,930
I really do like this truck... Like For real...

And has mid 50,000 milege on it.

They said it still has limited warranty. I checked the carfax and it is CLEAN. Well, it says one owner vehicle on Carfax.
Do you think I can bring some price down??

Never mention a trade in until you have worked out the final price, then let them know about the trade in. Oh and don't trust anything they say, get it all in writing. Oh and be willing to walk if it is not what you are looking at, either vehicle packages or price.

I would suggest going in knowing exactly what style/colour/model you are looking at. And be firm about it. They will probably try and either: knock you down to a smaller size for the same price, or try to upsell you to the larger size for a larger profit margin.

Also, be confident. If you're showing hesitation, then they know they can work you a bit more. Make sure you have some knowledge about the vehicle, so the lingo doesn't get too confusing for you to understand. (ie: V6 this, and TRD that)

Something that I wish I had done, is start asking for some goodies (step bars, bug deflector, etc) Sometimes these little extras come to the dealer at little to no cost, so they're fully willing to negotiate on stuff like that if it makes you want to buy from them more.

If looking at a new vehicle, email the internet sales person at the dealership and see what they are selling the vehicle for. I would do this for all dealerships in your area. I belong to USAA and I used there car buying service and it shows me the discount and the dealer they are working with. Also use Edmunds web site to see if any incentives are available.

I just looked at the USAA web site for a 2011 Tacoma DC 4X4 with the off road package and a MSRP $30,705 and my member price is $ 28,008 with a savings of $2,697.00.

When I bought my BMW back in 2005, I first went into the dealer negotiated one price and when I went home I emailed the internet sales person and I saved an additional $1,000 from the earlier deal.

1) Find the exact vehicle you want, wherever it is.
2) Figure out everything about it, such as where it is and how far of a drive that would be.
3) Get the invoice of the vehicle and look it over.
- Components: Dealer Price* + Accessories*, Holdback**, Financial Reserve, Gasoline (maybe), TDA* (Toyota Dealer Advertisements), Destination Charge*

* These items are generally non-negotiable when speaking in terms of paying for a vehicle in cash without a trade-in.
** Holdback is negotiable, but you need to be aware that if a vehicle has been on the lot for a while, it means they have racked up a lot of interest. Fortunately if a vehicle has been 'dead weight' for a while, they will also be willing to sell it quickly so as to get a sale and get it off their books. So factor in opportunity cost ("I sell car now for less $, but pay no more interest" or "I sell car later, hoping to get more $ and pay more interest").

If you tell them about the trade-in at the start, they'll be willing to 'lose money' on the sale because they'll make it up on the trade-in. If you tell them at the end you have a trade-in, they will lowball you, because now they need to makeup the money. Try getting trade-in prices from other dealerships and shop around! The more time you spend doing it, the better deal you will get. Really depends on your tolerance for their constant BS.

You guys haven't read the OP's description. He's looking at a specific 2007 used taco.

OP - I suggest you go on Edmunds.com and KBB.com and enter in all the specifics about the vehicle, especially including the mileage. Whatever it tells you is "retail" don't pay more than that under *any* circumstances.

Yeah, there are some nice wheels, tires, toolbox, bullbar. They don't add much to the all up value though. So don't be suckered into overpaying for them. Everything goes into figuring out "condition" and some of them can even be entered in in figuring up the retail value.

Where the dealer is most likely to really get you though - is financing. That's where small dealers really make their money. Unlike new car dealers that finance at reasonably good rates through giant corporations like GMAC, used car loan rates can border on usurious. Go to your bank or credit union and see what kind of rate you can get. That's your top line on financing cost. If the dealer will give you a lower one, great.

One other thing to be cautious of is "variable rate" financing. Interest rates are *really low* right now. If you get a variable rate loan, there's only one direction that rate is going over the time that you pay it off - and that's up.

Whenever you go to the dealer or bank, take a friend with you to listen. Someone who's not too hot on you pickup up the new wheels. Two pairs of ears is worthwhile, and a little voice of restraint is a good thing.

Time is on your side. There's no hurry. If you walk out, you can come back tomorrow or next week. Absolutely don't let the dealer "time pressure" you. "Oh yeah, there's this other guy whose really hot on this truck. He's off getting financing *right now.* If you want this truck you better sign *right away* or it won't be here when you get back!" Don't believe it. You don't even need to respond to comments like that. To win against tactics like that you don't argue, you just kinda shrug with a noncommital air. "Oh well, I'll get the next one then."

I agree with everyone posting before me. Also do not fall for "Well what do you want your payments to be" This is a tactic they use to jack up interest rate. The reason being is lets say you say i want to pay 350 a month and when they run your credit you actually qualify for a lower rate and lower payments. They will then jack up the rate to make it the 350 you said before. When they ask are you going to pay cash or finace just say it doesn't matter because it really doesn't. They always try to get you to pay more for a vechicle.

Yea im sorry that I've been editing like crazy haha I couldn't sit on computer for more than a minute when I posted this thread haha (I was working on my fishing stuffs).

Well I emailed the dealer for more information for now and waiting for the response. And the other problem is I am about 40 miles away from this dealer so it won't be easy for me to travel back and forth... So I need to gain as much information as possible before I make a trip to that dealership which it sucks for me and giving lots of advantage for the dealership...

Personally, I first find dealers that have exact model/config I want, but do I not tell them exactly what I'm looking for.
If the dealer knows that they have exactly what you are looking for, they will probably be less willing to negotiate a good price, than if you go in seeming open, if you are "just looking, with the possibility to buy".
Try to make them think that you're not too likely to buy, unless you get a really good deal (just don't say that to them).

What I have ALWAYS done when buying a new vehicle, is go to another company, and find out about their options and prices. For example, when I was buying the Taco, I first went a Nissan dealership, and looked at the Frontier.
I never had ANY intention of buying a Frontier, but it's always good to get a little practice with the cretinous folks that are car dealers before you go and play a part in the real performance.

At the end of the day, they are trying to sell it for as much as possible, and you are trying to spend as little as possible. It's all a game, practice makes perfect.

No trade is good. If this is the truck you want, plug in all the information in KBB (Kelly Blue Book) and NADA as well. You did not state the mileage on the truck. I did a quick look on KBB for my area San Diego County and inputted the basic info for that truck (4X4, sport, and I used 48k for miles). KBB came back at $19,500 for excellent trade in, $21,955 for excellent private party sale. Use the auto trader and look for like vehicles in the area as a comparison for price. Maybe there is another vehicle that you may like while you are searching. There is no telling what the dealer purchased (bought at auction or was it a trade) the truck for and how much they have invested in it. I can tell you that here in San Diego County that vehicle would have a price of $24K. I just saw a 2007 4X4 at Carmax for that price. Only you can decide if the vehicle is worth the price.

Never shop for a vehicle by payment always by price. A classic line from the dealer is "How much can you afford a month". It appears you are going to use a co-signer to purchase this vehicle. Depending upon the credit score of the co-signer is going to determine the interest rate at which the loan will be financed at. The higher the credit score the lower the interest rate you will qualify for. The higher the interest rate the higher the payment will be a month. To give you an example, I am a member of Navy Federal Credit Union and there current interest rates for a that vehicle is: up to 36 months at 3.59%, and 37 to 60 months is 3.99%.

I would recommend not buying any additional services or options ( car alarm, window tinting, extended warranty, undercoating) at the dealer. They are grossly marked up. I have a 2008 Tacoma that I purchased new and they wanted over $2K for the extended warranty for 8yrs and 125K miles. I bought the same warranty from another Toyota dealership out of state via the internet for $1,399.00.

Its not rocket science. Do your research on what things are actually selling for (not priced on craig's list) and figure a price you can afford and is in the zone of what is reasonable. If they can't match your demands, you just drive off. Its a car, not a kidney, you don't need it. Don't treat it like something special. Treat it like shopping for anything else. Car fax means about jack crap. A negative proves absolutely nothing.

Don't play the "well what payments are you able to afford"... If its pushing you that hard, your co-signer is going to be paying your loans.

You've probably already heard from everyone how getting under a debt after college sucks bad enough, after high school really sucks. Getting into someone for 20k and having that big a responsibility to them at that point in your life is a great way to close doors and loose opportunities. But you've clearly got a hard on for the truck.. if you're like anyone else, take 2 weeks off from shopping trucks and you'll probably think differently.

well, is this truck a higher price than similar trucks you've seen listed?
is there any damage or reason to get a price adjustment? such as high mileage or excessive wear?

Someone said earlier that the bull bar/tool box/tire and wheels, lights etc.. don't matter, well that's partly true, but you obviously like THIS truck because of the added accessories. All those accessories is a few thousand dollars that you'll save by not doing them yourself, just keep that in mind with your offer.

Also, explain that you are coming from out of town, and would appreciate some incentive to come buy THIS truck. Also, be willing to give a deposit with your offer.

"I'll give you 20 grand!" doesn't mean anything without a deposit as a backup. mention that you can give them a deposit to hold the truck if you can get the right price, and they will help you out I'm sure.

to qualify my reply, I work in auto sales, and these are things I have learned that work.

all that being said, I think you should have no problem getting this truck for $20,000. FYI, these have been selling recently at wholesale prices of a minimum of $17,000. meaning they paid a lot for it!